Governor tells Senate Republicans they must act on his agenda

By Jimmy Vielkind

Published 10:24 pm, Wednesday, December 12, 2012

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Republican leaders in the state Senate that he would use his bully pulpit against them if they don't act on a progressive agenda.

Cuomo, a Democrat, was reacting to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who said Tuesday that "we haven't made any decision or agreement as to what will come to the floor." His comments were part of a flurry by GOP senators after an alliance was struck with the Independent Democratic Conference that will keep Republicans in power, so long as they share decision making.

The IDC's members have been speaking openly about their legislative priorities, which include a minimum wage hike, campaign finance overhaul and a new fund to give scholarships to undocumented immigrants. These align closely with parts of a 10-point "litmus test" Cuomo laid out last week.

Capitol observers took the comments by Skelos, R-Long Island, as something of a balk. The Conservative Party, which often provides a crucial buttress for GOP candidates, warned Republicans over the weekend against signing on to many of those agenda points.

In three radio interviews Wednesday, Cuomo fired shots across the Republicans' bow.

"If that's true then we're going to have a problem, and we're going to have a problem sooner rather than later," he said on WGJD Talk 1300 AM. "If Sen. Skelos is opposed to the agenda of the people of New York state, then I will oppose him."

"I'm putting an agenda forth," Cuomo said in a subsequent interview with public radio. "I expect it to be acted on, I expect a functioning Senate, and I expect support. And if we have a difference of opinion and they choose not to support an agenda that I believe is in the best interests of the people of this state ... then I will oppose it with all my might."

A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University showed the governor's standing is higher than ever: 74 percent of the 1,302 voters surveyed last week approve of the job Cuomo is doing, compared with 13 percent who disapprove. Cuomo said his response to Superstorm Sandy, which thrust him ever more deeply into the public spotlight, explained the boost.

The poll also found 48 percent of voters prefer a leadership coalition for the Senate, compared to 31 percent who want Democrats and 17 percent who prefer Republican control.

All rush to insist they are aligned with the popular governor. Indeed, Skelos' spokesman Scott Reif responded to his comments by saying, "If Senate Republicans have proven anything over the past two years, it's that we can work successfully with Governor Cuomo on an agenda that benefits all New Yorkers."

This includes budgeting, same-sex marriage and enacting a property tax cap.

As the governor postured amid the Senate's competing factions, results in the five-county 46th District were delayed even longer.

A Montgomery County judge has been supervising the counting of legally questionable absentee and affidavit ballots, and had ruled that election officials begin opening them on Wednesday. Republican Assemblyman George Amedore leads Duanesburg Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk by 111 votes, but his campaign initiated roughly three-quarters of the objections to 887 absentee and affidavit ballots that have not yet been opened.

Amedore's attorneys successfully asked an appellate to prevent the counting, saying "the ever-changing (vote) tallies, all forced by no necessity, will create public confusion and distrust of the entire process, including the judicial process for no tangible benefit."

If Amedore is declared the winner, Republicans and one Democratic defector from Brooklyn would hold a majority in the chamber without allying with the IDC.